Sunday, March 4, 2012

Chewlyweds

The video I have chosen is a clip from the American TV program The Chew. It shows same sex couple Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka take part in a Mr and Mrs type game called Chewlyweds. Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka began dating in 2004 and claim to have proposed to each other in 2005, although they kept this quiet until same sex marriage was made legal in New York. They have twins via a surrogate mother that were born in 2010. I think they are an excellent representation of a modern American same sex couple with children. Neil Patrick Harris is a very successful actor and magician. David Burtka is also an actor as well as a chef. They both have successful careers and manage to raise two children. This clip is especially interesting because the game they play is designed for married couples and would have been originally devised for same sex couples. The game is very similar to the popular TV show Mr and Mrs which, as indicated by the title, was a game show aimed at same sex married couples. Mr and Mrs first aired in Canada in 1963. At this time gay marriage was far from legal in the United States. For a modern same sex couple to partake in a game based on this clearly heterosexual show is a huge step and an achievement. The fact that this is done nonchalantly and without a second glance shows how far acceptance of gay identity has come in The United States.